Ink fountain



Aug. 9, 1960 E.' c. WITT 2,948,217

INK FOUNTAIN Filed Jan. 9, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l (Amp U TCBUQS INVENTORATTORNEY 2,948,217 Patented Aug. 9, 1960 INK FOUNTAIN "Edgar C. Witt,Granby, Mass., assignor to Diamond National Corporation, a corporationof Delaware Filed Jan. 9, 1958, Ser. No. 707,904

6 Claims. (Cl. 101-364) ticularly to an ink supply fountain for rotaryprinting 7 machines. I Rotary printing machines employed for imprintingupon the surfaces of a procession of articles, such as a plurality ofmolded pulp egg cartons being advanced in succession along a conveyor,require a steady supply of ink fed at a uniform, controlled rate. Forthis purpose it is desirable to provide an ink supply fountain which canbe quickly detached from the machine to facilitate cleaning and changingof the color of the ink. It is also important for the fountain topossess a leakproof construction.

Anobject of the present invention is to provide a new and improved inksupply fountain for rotary printing machines.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and 1 improved inkfountain for rotary printing machines which is quickly detachabletherefrom and possesses ,a leakproof construction. H V Another importantobject of the invention is to provide new and improved ink supplyfountains for rotary print: ing machines employed for imprinting uponthe top and the side surfaces of a procession of molded pulp egg cartonsbeing advanced in succession along a conveyor. 7

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant inventionwill be apparent from the. following description taken in conjunctionWith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of an ink supply fountain embodying theinvention; a a p Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of thefountain.showninFig, 1;. v 1

Fig. 3 is a plan elevation view of the fountain 'illus-'tratedinFigs.1and2; f Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4- -4of Fig.1;

Fig. 5 is a plan elevation view of an ink supply fountain constituting asecond embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation view of the fountainshown in Fig. 5.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 isparticularly adapted for use on vertically disposed rotaryprintersforimprinting on the top surfaces of a procession of articles,while the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is designed for use onprinters disposed horizontally or at an inclination th'eretofor imprinting on the side surfaces of sucharticles. Such top printers andside printers may be associated in tandem for printing successively uponthe tops and the sides of each of a plurality of articles being advancedin succession along a conveyor. A combined top. and sideprinting machineof this type, which is particularly suitable for printing on molded pulpegg cartons, is disclosed and claimed in copending application SerialNo. 777,782, field December 2, 1958, by Irvin L. Young, and titledPrinting Machine. I;

In the first embodiment of the invention, illustrated in 2 Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, a generally rectangular opentopped trough 10 functions as anink reservoir for a vertically disposed printing machine, of which onlya vertical plate 12 forming a portion thereof is shown in Fig. 2. Thetrough 10 is provided with a pair of vertical side walls 14 which mergeat one end of the trough into a single integral end wall 15. Theopposite end of the trough 10 is not provided with a permanent end wall,

however, this open end is normally closed by a large roller '16 disposedhorizontally with respect to said side walls. A flat bottom portion 18of the trough 10 slopes gradually downwardly from the end wall 15 to theroller 16, as shown in Fig. 1, so that any ink contained in the trough10 tends to flow by gravity towards the roller 16. A series of transferrolls (not shown) transmit the ink from the roller 16 to the printingelements of the machine.

The trough 10 is pivotally mounted on the printing machine, but it isnormally prevented from tilting to any substantial degree about itspivot point. A transversely elongated lug 20 projecting downwardly fromthe bottom portion 18 is provided at its lower end with a cylindricalbushing 22 which is adapted to fit over and loosely slidingly engage theouter end of a horizontal shaft 24 projecting outwardly from and securedto the vertical plate portion 12 of the printing machine, which shaftfunctions asrthe pivot point for the trough 10. The roller 16 is securedby a key 26 to a driven shaft 28 which projects horizontally from theplate 12 parallel to and spaced from the, shaft 24-. The side walls 14of the trough 10 are each provided with anarcuate cutout portion 30having a curvature corresponding to that of the roller 16, and adaptedto fit tightly thereagainst to prevent leakage of ink past said sidewalls when the fountain is operatively positioned. The pivotal mountingof the trough 10, and the loose fitting engagement of bushing 22 on theshaft 24, enables the arcuate portions 30 of the side walls 14 to centerthemselves properly against the roller 16, thereby forming a tightliquid seal therebetween. Furthermore, the rotation of the roller 16,vwhich may have. a hardened steel surface, inevitably results in somewear, which. constantly tends to improve the liquid seal. 7 The roller16 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, andin doing so ink is picked up on its periphery as it advances downwardlythrough the ink supply contained in the trough 10. It should be observedthat the diameter of the roller 16 is sutficiently large and this rolleris so positioned against the arcuate cutout portions 30 in the open endof the trough 10, that the roller 16 extends from the bottom of thetrough 10 nearly to the top thereof, thereby enabling it to dam up asubstantial quantity of ink withinv the trough. Above the cutoutportions 30 the side walls 14 terminate in beveled ends 32.

A plate 34 removably secured by a lurality of bolts 36 to the inside ofthe bottom portion 18 of the trough 10, and having one end thereofspaced closely to the surface of the roller 16, serves as a doctor bladetherefor. The plate 34 covers substantially the entire area of thebottom of thetrough 10, which renders it easier to clean any dirt orother deposits therefrom. The opposite side edges of the plate 34 areelevated slightly as they approach the roller 16, as indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 1, for the purpose of directing the ink flow inwardly fromthe ends of the roller 16. The spacing between the roller 16 and theadjacent edge of the plate 34 is accurately adjustable by means of aplurality of spring loaded bolts 38 which threadedly extend through thelug 20 into engagement with the bottom of the plate 34 at an acute anglethereto near the doctoring edge thereof.

Thet'rough 10 is detachably locked into its operative position againstthe roller 16 by means of a handle mech-. anism, indicated generally at40. The handle 40 includes a pair of side arms 42 having one end thereofjournalled on the shaft 28 on opposite sides of the trough l0, andhaving their opposite end connected by a tie bar 44. A collar 46 securedto the outer end of the shaft 28 retains the arms 4-2 and the roller 16thereon. The side arms 42 are eachv provided with a downwardlyprojecting barrel &8 housing a spring loaded detent plunger 50 which isadapted to engage a socket 52 formed in a block 54. Two of the blocks 54are secured to opposite sides of the trough it? on the outside of theside walls 14 thereof by a plurality of bolts 56.

The handle 46 is readily movable from its locking position, shown infull lines in Fig. l, to its releasing position, shown in dotted linestherein, merely by manually grasping the handle 48 and pivoting it aboutthe shaft 28, which action requires only moderate pressure to slide thedetent plungers an out of the sockets 52. With the handle as in itsreleasing position, the entire trough may be detached from the printingmachine by tilting it slightly away from the roller 16, and then pullingit transversely away from the plate 112 to disengage the bushing 22 fromthe shaft 24.

The second embodiment of the invention, shown in Figs. 5 and 6, includesa generally trapezoidal opentopped trough 66 serving as an ink reservoirfor a printing machine, of which only a plate 62 is shown in'Fig. 6, andwhich is intended to be disposed at an angle of about 30 to horizontal,as indicated by a dotted horizontal reference line therebelow. Thetrough 66 is provided with a sloped bottom and a pair of side walls 64which merge at one end of the trough into an integral end wall 66disposed perpendicularly to the side walls 64. At the other end of thetrough 60 an inclined end wall 63 is joined to one of the side walls 64.Between the other side wall 64 and the inclined end wall 68 no permanentwall is provided, but the tops of these walls are joined by a web 69 andthe open portion of the trough 60 below the web 6% is normally closed bya large roller 70, which corresponds to the roller 16 described in thefirst embodiment of the invention. The roller 76 is disposed verticallywith respect to the side and end walls of the trough 6i), and thisroller is mounted on a driven shaft 72 journalled in the plate 62. Anyink contained in the trough 66 tends to flow by gravity towards theroller 70, from which it is carried by a series of transfer rolls (notshown) to the printing elements of the machine.

An eccentric bushing 76 mounted rotatably within a lug 78 projectingfrom the end wall 68 fits over and loosely slidingly engages the outerend of a shaft 80 projecting from the plate 62 parallel to and spacedfrom the shaft 72, thereby providing a pivotal mounting for the trough60. The bushing 76 is adjustably secured within the lug 73 by a setscrew 81, and an exterior hexagonal head 82 formed on the bushing 76enables its position to be adjusted rotatably when the set screw 81 isreleased, thereby providing an adjustment for the position of the entiretrough 6% with respect to the roller 70. An arcuate cutout portion 83formed in the web 69 and in the bottom between the side and end walls ofthe trough 60 possesses a curvature corresponding to that of the roller76 and is adapted to fit tightly thereagainst to prevent leakage of ink.These elements create and maintain a liquid seal in the same mannerdescribed for the first embodiment of the invention.

A plate 84 serving as a doctor blade is secured to the end wall 68 by aplurality of bolts 86, and one end of the plate 84 is spaced closely tothe surface of the roller 70. A plurality of spring-loaded bolts 68extend through the lug 78 and engage the doctoring end of the plate 84at an acute angle thereto for adjusting the spacing between said plateand the surface of the roller 74 A simple latch is provided forreleasably securing the trough 60 on the plate 62 and properlypositioned against the roller 76, said latch comprising a spiral spring9% having a hook 92 at one end thereof adapted to engage a stud 94mounted on the plate 62, the other end of said spring being secured tothe end Wall 66 of the trough 60.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention, andtherefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawingsand described in the specification, but only as indicated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ink fountain for rotary printing machines, comprising anopen-topped trough having peripheral side and end walls and having anopening formed near the bottom of one end thereof, said openingextending between one end wall and one side wall thereof, a web definingone side of the opening and connecting the trough walls between whichthe opening extends, said opening having arcuate sides formed in the weband in the bottom of the trough, a roller mounted vertically adjacent tothe trough and adapted to fit into said opening in sealing contact withthe arcuate sides thereof but permitting feeding of ink from the bottomthereof upon rotation of the roller, said trough being removablypivotally mounted for movement toward and away from the roller foradjusting the position of the trough with respect to the roller tomaintain said sealing contact, and a quickly releasable spring connectedlatch for detachably locking the trough yieldably in operative positionagainst the roller.

2. The ink fountain defined by claim 1, wherein the latch comprises astud mounted near the trough, and a hook yieldably connected by a springto the trough and adapted to engage the stud.

3. The ink fountaindefined by claim 1, wherein the pivotal support forthe trough comprises a shaft mounted parallel to and spaced from theroller, and an eccentric bushing mounted rotatably on the trough, saidbushing being adapted to fit over and loosely slidingly engage saidshaft.

4. An ink fountain for rotary printing machines, comprising anopen-topped trough having peripheral side and end walls and having atransverse opening extending across the trough at one end thereof, saidopening including arcuate cutouts formed in opposite side walls of thetrough, a roller mounted adjacent to the trough and adapted to fit intosaid opening in sealing contact with the arcuate sides thereof butpermitting feeding of ink therefrom upon rotation of the roller, saidtrough being removably pivotally mounted in loose sliding engage mentupon a fixed shaft disposed parallel to and spaced from the roller, andyieldable connection means for detachably holding the trough against theroller, including a quickly releasable spring connected catch for urgingthe trough against the roller.

5. An ink fountain for rotary printing machines, comprising anopen-topped trough having peripheral side and end walls and having atransverse opening extending across the bottom of the trough at one endthereof, said opening including arcuate cutouts formed in opposite sidewalls of the trough, an ink-feed roller mounted horizontally adjacent tothe trough and adapted to fit into said opening in sealing contact withthe arcuate sides thereof but permitting feeding of ink from the bottomthereof upon rotation of the roller, a cylindrical bushing secured tothe trough and adapted to fit slidably onto a fixed shaft mountedparallel to and spaced from the roller for removably pivotally mountingthe trough adjacent to said roller, and a latch for detachably lockingthe trough against the roller, including a handle bar mounted pivotallywith respect to the roller, a plurality of springloaded detent plungersmounted on the handle bar, and a plurality of sockets provided on thetrough for quickly releasably engaging said plungers.

6. An ink fountain for rotary printing machines, comprising anopen-topped trough having peripheral side and end walls and having atransverse opening extending across the bottom of the trough at one endthereof, said '5 openingincludin'g arcuate cutouts formed in oppositeside walls of the trough, an ink-feed roller mounted horizontally on ashaft adjacent to the trough, said roller being carried on the bar, anda plurality of sockets mounted on the trough for quickly releasablyengaging said plungers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS258,290 Gage May 23, 1882 8 28,760 Mercer Aug. 14, 1906 992,690 RolleMay 16, 1911 2,451,634 Ranger Oct. 19, 1948 2,514,556 Peyreb-rune et al.July 11, 1950

